[luvarkansas]

Jasper....beautiful setting in the midst of mountains, Grand Canyon of the Ozarks just south of it, neat courthouse and downtown, Little Buffalo River running through Bradley Park, all roads leading out of Jasper run through beautiful scenery, not far to Buffalo River. Nice campground with full hook-ups and a few little "cabins" (they're nice but not fancy), swimming pool, very clean. Used to have a little petting zoo, but looked like it was closed down last time we went in there (June). Plenty of really nice cabins for rent all around Jasper. Not sure if the bed & breakfast over the Ozark Cafe in Jasper is still open or not. The Gordon Motel is quaint and could be really sweet, but they don't keep it up well, it's sort of run down. We used to stay at the Parkway but it's closed down.

Daisy Queen is about 20 minutes up highway 7....great place to eat! Closed on certain days, make sure before you make the trip, also closed in winter, can't remember exact dates.

Drive out to Parthenon on hwy. 327 right off hwy. 74 west, right out of Jasper....beautiful little community, and the drive to get there is great, too. Keep going and you will (eventually!) come out on the road that Alum Cove hiking trail head is on.....great hike, and not too hard.

Another neat drive is off of Hwy. 7 south of Jasper....take 374 out to Mt. Judea (pronounced "Judy"). Until recently, there was a one-lane bridge going into town. There are a few old buildings there, and a small cafe. You can wander around those back roads out that way forever!

There is just so much to do around Jasper I can't even tell it all.

Huntsville is another one of my favorite towns....nice town square with a neat little flea market/consignment shop (great place to pick up clothes to hike in) and pretty plantings and fountain, nice, neat homes, surrounded by beautiful countryside. And they even have a Pizza Hut, which makes my kids happy. There is also a little convenience store near Wal-Mart with chicken strips, fish, tater logs, etc., and it's good. There is a good restaurant there, can't remember the name of it, though, but it's on one of the main drags....not a chain restaurant.

Kingston....nothing to do, but neat because of its old-fashioned charm, the way all the buildings are arranged in a square, and the buildings are old and interesting, too. There is a Grampa's Flea Market, but his prices are kinda high and he won't deal much, so he pretty much has the same things every time we go there. There is a restaurant in the square but I've never eaten there. There is a new convenience store also, which saved our hide the last time we went to Jasper....we got out of Jasper too far to go back, and realized we didn't have much gas.....we made it to Kingston right around 8 p.m. and didn't figure the little store would still be open, but it was (stays open till 9)....sighs of relief all around, don't think we would have made it to Huntsville. It also has a grill where they make burgers and stuff. Haven't eaten any, but looked good. The people running it are not the friendliest, or maybe we just caught them on a bad day the 3 times we've been there.

Oark....not much there, but the Oark General Store has a Cafe and they have live music on the weekends. I did not enjoy either of the meals I had there, but I've never been on the weekend. My mom has and said it was just ok. The atmosphere is good, very old-fashioned. On down the road about 3 miles is Catalpa (even less there than Oark!), and the lunches at the Catalpa General Store have been pretty good every time we've been there....best the first time (roast pork loin...it was great). They have homemade, mile-high yeast rolls and homemade pies. The atmosphere is very rustic. Whichever you choose, the drive there is worth it all, whether you come up 103 from Clarksville or over on 215 from hwy. 23 north of Ozark. 103 goes up a mountain, lots of switchbacks and one nice place to pull off for a view, and 215 follows the Mulberry River lots of the way.

I like Eureka Springs, of course, because I love old buildings and Victorian houses. It's very touristy, though, and I don't want to go very often.

I really should get a job with Arkansas tourism, I guess. Hope you all enjoyed my meanderings.

[luvarkansas]

Oh....meant to say that the little campground in Jasper is called Dogwood Springs.

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by photobuff42

Batesville is a pretty town.

Batesville is oft overlooked.

Being a John Deere owner, I find myself going to Batesville, the closest dealer, on a regular basis as well as my dermatologist's office is there.

The second oldest city in Arkansas, it is pretty sizeable for these parts.

Dropping in at Josie's for a steak or chop, or Kelly Wyatt's for a down-home soujthern buffet at lunch (black-eyed peas, turnip greens, chicken, catfish, cornbread, mashed taters, etc,......waddle out).

Great fishing in the river, nice university there, and a good TSC in case y'all need some hitch pins or baling cord.

Triangle cafe on the south side is really good, and there's a restaurant by it that overlooks the spectacular view to the north.

It is wholly worth a trip.

[GetmeoutofAR]

ive never been to Batesville

[marmac]

I haven't been to many ( my wife has passed through more ), however I would say Jasper.

It seems like the town is "surrounded"

I passed through it in late January ( a few years back ) on my way from Minnesota to the race track at Hot Springs .

If it caught my eye in late January, I can only imagine how beautifull it is when the fall colors are peaking.

[Stormcrow73]

I really like Marshal. It's a town that has had some success staying locally relevant. Folks there seem to understand what community is about.

Scott is a cool town.

Jasper is cool too but a little on the weird side if you haven't roamed the Ozarks much. Despite the fact there's practically nothing to it anymore, Western Grove is up there too. You have to get off 65 to see that there was ever anything really there.

Scotland is a fascinating little place that time has totally forgotten. Don't go there if you're scared of hillbilly culture though, you might just imagine "Dueling Banjos" in the background creeping closer and closer. The stretch of road from Scotland to Morrilton is beautiful (think it's AR 9). Fabulous low rolling hills. Not nearly so magnificent as the Boston Plateau but still great.

There are just too many places to single some out. I wouldn't live in most of these places but they're still fun to go to and explore. The real beauty in most of these places is the people and you have to get out of the car and go into the local diner or gathering place to get that, something most people never bother to do. Frankly...it's probably a good thing too because a lot of people would somehow manage to squeeze their attitudes through the door and decide the "little country folk" are beneath them and get a good dose of cold shoulder and "you ain't from around here" looks.

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

I really like Marshal. It's a town that has had some success staying locally relevant. Folks there seem to understand what community is about.

Scott is a cool town.

Jasper is cool too but a little on the weird side if you haven't roamed the Ozarks much. Despite the fact there's practically nothing to it anymore, Western Grove is up there too. You have to get off 65 to see that there was ever anything really there.

Scotland is a fascinating little place that time has totally forgotten. Don't go there if you're scared of hillbilly culture though, you might just imagine "Dueling Banjos" in the background creeping closer and closer. The stretch of road from Scotland to Morrilton is beautiful (think it's AR 9). Fabulous low rolling hills. Not nearly so magnificent as the Boston Plateau but still great.

There are just too many places to single some out. I wouldn't live in most of these places but they're still fun to go to and explore. The real beauty in most of these places is the people and you have to get out of the car and go into the local diner or gathering place to get that, something most people never bother to do. Frankly...it's probably a good thing too because a lot of people would somehow manage to squeeze their attitudes through the door and decide the "little country folk" are beneath them and get a good dose of cold shoulder and "you ain't from around here" looks.

Well said.

I tried to click you on that one, but I gotta spread the love.

Consider it done.

You have no idea how many "dueling banjo" places I've been to.

I swear, the guy I buy my seed and fertilizer from has all 3 teeth and old appliances dotting his yard.

Nicest fella I've ever met, but to the uninitiated he and his place look like a halloween-horror-house look to it.

I've sat on his porch for hours, listening to stories about, "these hollers", and the folks that "came up in'm".

You're absolutely right about squeezing their attitudes through the door.

This ain't Disneyworld.

No matter how you try, these oaks will always be higher in the air than you can stick your nose up.

[luvarkansas]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

.

Scotland is a fascinating little place that time has totally forgotten.

Frankly...it's probably a good thing too because a lot of people would somehow manage to squeeze their attitudes through the door and decide the "little country folk" are beneath them and get a good dose of cold shoulder and "you ain't from around here" looks.

I found 2 Scotlands on my map. I'm assuming you mean the one in the northern part of the state. I'd like to go there sometime in my wanderings. Can you elaborate on it a little more?

You know, sometimes you get those "YAFAH" looks no matter what you do. In the little convenience store in Kingston, we've always smiled and tried to strike up a conversation with the people standing around while we check out. Last time my mom told the cashier that the store was very nice (and it is....new, clean, nice bathrooms, lots of good drinks and snacks, gas, some little tables inside and out....the outside one has a good view of the distant mountains), and she just got a "look", not even any kind of answer. So sometimes you'll get them no matter what you do, but we just let it slide. I'm from a small town myself, so I can kind of relate, but I'm just naturally more outgoing than some, I guess.

[luvarkansas]

About the Daisy Queen....It's in a cool old building that's from, I'd say, the late 50s or maybe 60s, with the original sign, very retro. The man that owns it is very nice, and so are all the workers. It's as clean as a whistle. The burgers and fries are good, and so are the beans and cornbread. My mom has ordered the "diet" plate before....something like grilled chicken and sautéed veggies, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.....she said it was pretty good. They also have homemade pies. It's not expensive.

There is a little "playground" outside, with some old-fashioned "horsey" swings and a tall slide that my kids used to love to go down. They've outgrown it now, but my daughter still remembers "Sugarfoot"....that's what she named one of the horsey swings. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas. The place has always been so neat and clean when we've gone there that you could eat off the floor. My family has many fond memories of the DQ, and we tried to go there this June when we ran over to Jasper for a "nostalgia" trip, but they were closed....seems like it was a Monday. We were SO disappointed when we drove up....but the first thing we said (after "dang!") was, "There's Sugarfoot!"

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by luvarkansas

I found 2 Scotlands on my map. I'm assuming you mean the one in the northern part of the state. I'd like to go there sometime in my wanderings. Can you elaborate on it a little more?

You know, sometimes you get those "YAFAH" looks no matter what you do. In the little convenience store in Kingston, we've always smiled and tried to strike up a conversation with the people standing around while we check out. Last time my mom told the cashier that the store was very nice (and it is....new, clean, nice bathrooms, lots of good drinks and snacks, gas, some little tables inside and out....the outside one has a good view of the distant mountains), and she just got a "look", not even any kind of answer. So sometimes you'll get them no matter what you do, but we just let it slide. I'm from a small town myself, so I can kind of relate, but I'm just naturally more outgoing than some, I guess.

Yeah the Scotland I'm talking about is in the north, Van Buren county. As for what I'm talking about...well...the school is VERY old. I played basketball there once when I was in high school in the 80's and the gym felt ancient even back then. There's been no renovations since then. I think it's about to be consolidated into Clinton if it hasn't already. They have a fairly new community center...on a dirt road. There's a beauty shop right across the street from the post office that looks like it's been shuttered since 1970 (maybe even longer). The beauty shop however is extremely well kept and in a quaint old frontier style home that was built in the late 1800's if I remember what the sign over the door said. There are a few houses that resemble precisely what RogMar was talking about above. It's extremely tiny, I'd guess the actual current population within "city" limits to be less than 50. I have some pics of both the old post office and the beauty shop. Maybe I'll try to post those tonight. I'm doing a painting of the old post office!